Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $174.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marathon Petroleum traded as low as $142.53 and last traded at $143.94, with a volume of 392154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.56.

MPC has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.00.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Petroleum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 33.2% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 79.6% in the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 10,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $612,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.1% in the second quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $153.96 and its 200 day moving average is $164.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.